Bahruun remained sleeping like a log until dinner, and Milled helped him to bed again afterward. We didn’t see either of them until the following morning. They arrived to breakfast with Millid riding Bahruun’s shoulders, with both of them seeming in excellent spirits.Meleri decided to make a nice breakfast comprising hot cocoa, poached eggs, baguettes with various condiments, and various meats for our carnivorous members.

  I looked up from my plate and gave them a pleasant smile. “Morning, you two. You seem better today.” Bahruun put Millid down in her chair, which was much taller than the others so she would reach her plate. Then he gave her an affectionate smile. “Oh, I do, I feel much better as a matter of fact.” He ruffled Millid’s spiky hair as he sat down beside her. Millid, for her part gave a pleased growl before she began to partake of the breakfast.

  “So, I take it you will begin Meleri’s lessons today?” Bahruun looked up from his plate of food. “That was the general idea, yes. I intended to take the lessons outside, not only because it’s a nice day, but the first few classes can have… explosive results.” I glanced over at Meleri who now seemed nervous. “That sounds like an excellent idea, Bahruun. I even know the perfect location.”

  After breakfast, I led the way out of the hut and into the forest west of the swamp. After about five minutes of walking, we arrived in an open clearing of hardened ground with no vegetation growing in it at all. “My personal training ground, though I haven’t used it in a while. I would prefer it if you made use of it rather than set my house, or the surrounding forest, on fire.” As Bahruun and Meleri stepped into the clearing, wards sprang to life around the edges. Nothing amazing, as I made this place over a century and a half ago, but it should keep Meleri’s magic contained.

  Outside the ward were a few benches made from felled logs and maintained with magic, the perfect spot to rest after practice or to watch as it went on. Bahruun and Meleri entered the clearing, and from our vantage point I could see him begin to instruct her. Millid, who was sitting beside me, was chewing on a piece of baguette and seemed quite interested in what Bahruun and Meleri were doing.

  Because of the ward, I couldn’t hear Bahruun’s explanations, but Meleri was a quick study if the sparks she was creating were anything to go by. Then, it happened. A sudden flash and small arcs of energy blasted across the clearing as Meleri lost control of her spell. Meleri was blasted off her feet, while Bahruun staggered backwards. As the spell dissipated, Meleri got back to her feet, while Bahruun, who was chuckling by the looks of it, remained seated.

  I popped my head into the ward. “As you can see, not as easy as it seems.” Meleri shook her hand. “Gah, that stung. Very funny, sis. Though you were right, Bahruun, you weren’t kidding about magic being easier to channel than to use.” She looked over at Bahruun as she spoke, though she gave me an annoyed glance as well. I gave her a friendly wave. “Not bad for your first time compared to me. I flashbang’d myself when I cast my first spell. Gave myself the mother of all headaches and depleted my mana stores all in one go.”

  Meleri’s reply was an annoyed grunt. “I know. You showed me in my dreams, remember?” I waved her off. “I know, I know. What I’m trying to say is, you’re doing better than I did, no mana depletion, and you did nothing worse than a few arcs of energy. Pretty tame, really. So keep it up.” I retreated outside the ward, and Meleri began again.

  Several hours later, as the sun started to crest closer to noon, Bahruun and Meleri left the clearing, though it was more correct to say Bahruun all but carried Meleri outside. She was drenched in sweat, and her tail was dragging along the ground because she was so exhausted. “You gave her a good first session Bahruun. You did a good job. As for you, sis, welcome to your first-ever mana depletion. Sucks, doesn’t it?”

  Meleri tried to lift a hand to make a certain gesture, but she didn’t have the energy for it. If I were being honest, I was amazed she was still conscious at this point. I pulled out my broom and set it to hover, and nodded towards it. Bahruun got the picture and helped Meleri sit down on it. Better to pass out on top of it than just drop like a sack of potatoes onto the forest floor.

  Meleri gave me a grateful nod and even swayed lightly as I grabbed the edge of the broom and began the walk back to the house while pulling the hovering broom behind me. “I’ll get you a mana potion once you get back home. That will fix you right up.” Bahruun cleared his throat, and I gave him a knowing look. “I know, I know. It’ll be a lesser one, I know from experience that mana reserves increase with use.”

  As we got back to the house, I helped Meleri off the broom and into a chair on the porch. “Just wait here and I’ll be right back.” When I returned with a lesser mana potion, I saw Irenji happily receiving some weak pats from Meleri. I handed her the potion. “Careful, it’s a tad spicy.” She nodded as she downed it and grimaced.

  “Blugh, thanks for the warning.” Her voice was hoarse. She cleared her throat. “Although I feel better now.” I nodded. “Mana depletion causes a sensation of exhaustion, though getting some more mana into your system will quickly ease it. Now, how about I make good on my promise and explain the incident with the whole chicken thing? I will warn you, however, that it’s not as fun as you think.”

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  I could hear a groan from Soot, though both Winter and Meleri sounded quite interested. I sat down in my chair, and Bahruun sat down on the same bench as yesterday, while Millid hopped into his lap and smiled up at him. With the sun now high in the sky, I pulled off my hat to get some sun on my skin and leaned back. “So this all takes place a while after Midnight first arrived. She was still a juvenile and was getting really aggressive with her hunting, going after pretty much everything that moved. On that day…”

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  The rain was pouring down outside. I was looking over the notes about this new experimental potion I was making. The ones in the book were well and good for beginners, but I wanted to try my hand at experimenting now that I was actually getting pretty good at it. Just following the book would only get me so far, after all. Soot was roosting on the curtain rod above the window and was currently preening his feathers.

  I looked over the ingredients again. Mugwort, fish bones, and caps of toadstools were next into the cauldron. If the ingredients were correct, then the brew should now turn a nice deep green. A few moments later, it did. This wasn’t so bad at all. Next were… A sudden flash and thunderous boom roared through the room, causing both Soot and me to flinch, and made Midnight come shooting into the room in a panic.

  There was a distressed caw from Soot, and as I turned to look, I saw a single raven’s feather, the very one he was preening, land into the concoction. “Sh-” I didn’t get further before the concoction erupted violently into a rainbow liquid that engulfed Soot and hit the ceiling. Midnight was shielded from the fallout thanks to hiding under the table. While I was the same thanks to my hat. “Soot, are you alright?” No response.

  I peered up at the curtain rod, which was covered in the opaque mist that the potion turned into, but even that was fading away, the magic spent. Slowly what happened to Soot became apparent, as in his place was now what was unmistakably a small black rooster. “Ah shit, Soot!” I cast a fly spell and slowly because of unfamiliarity with such spells floated up and grabbed Soot gently into my arms and moved into the living room.

  Midnight followed behind, curious and worried as well. I sat him down on the table and stepped back. Just as I was about to cast a spell to see if I could reverse the effect of the chaotic magic, Soot twitched and woke up. “Bwak? What happened? I feel funny. And what’s wrong with my voice?” Midnight jumped up on the table and looked at Soot.

  “You look like a tasty morsel now.” It was meant like a joke. I could hear it in her voice, but the effect on Soot was surprising, as Soot jumped back and scurried across the room in a panic. An instinctual fear brought on by his new form? Maybe. Soot stopped in front of the large mirror in the corner and stared transfixed at his own reflection.

  An incomprehensible wail escaped his beak one that not even my abilities could decipher the meaning of, though considering his reaction I could guess what he was experiencing. “It’s alright, Soot, we’ll figure it out.” I slowly approached him, careful not to make any sudden moves to scare him even further. He looked up at me wide-eyed and confused, likely dealing with instincts not his own. As I gently picked him up and held him close, I could feel him relax.

  “That Mistress I… I needed that.” He let out a few clucking noises. “Also, Midnight, I… I know you likely meant that as a jest, but…” Midnight tilted her head and then lazily began to lick her paws. “Oh, don’t worry I understand that it’s likely your new body. You’re a prey animal now, so the sight of predators instills instinctive fear. I get it, and I don’t hold it against you.” Soot looked at her for a moment, then nodded without a word. "Mistress, would you kindly put me up on my roost? The floor makes me nervous." I looked down at him. “Err…. Sure?” I put him up on his favorite roost, and he seemed much calmer up there.

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  “That… wasn’t as hilarious as I expected it to be when I got the full story rather than as something mentioned in hindsight.” Meleri gave Soot an apologetic look. “It’s fine. It was rather traumatic at the time yes, since none of us knew how long it would last, if it would ever wear off, or if it could be undone. But in hindsight, it was a completely avoidable outcome as I should have known better than to preen myself above a potion cauldron in use.” Irenji looked up at Soot from where he was sitting. “Did you really spend a month as a chicken then?” Soot nodded. “Indeed, well a month and a handful of hours. The magic was dispelled by the light of the blood moon.”

  Irenji nodded, understanding the implication. “Powerful instances of natural magic like a blood moon can have mystical effects in their own right, so it adds up that it could dispel the transformation, no guarantee that it would unless…” He looked at me and I gave a curt nod.

  “One ingredient in the experimental potion was crushed moonstone. And despite the chaotic nature of the potion, it kept its relation to the moon cycles and stopped functioning once the blood moon’s light hit Soot. I am honestly just glad it didn’t turn into an Elixir in the process of its chaotic outburst.” I could see Soot shudder at the idea.

  Meleri gave Irenji a loving scratch behind the ears, earning a growl of contentment from the pup. “I take it the blood moon is more than just a tool for rituals then?” Before I could answer, Bahruun spoke up. “Blood moons are powerful celestial events with a powerful influence on the mana of the world. Some rituals will not function if attempted without its influence, while other magic can behave erratically or have an entirely different outcome than expected. For instance, attempting to brew a standard healing potion during a blood moon using the common recipe of the region will instead yield a powerful sleeping potion under the light of a blood moon. Regardless, Lady Morgana I believe it's lunchtime?”

  Ivy gave a delighted trill at the mention of lunch, and considering she was as close to a clock as you could get without using one where meals were concerned, that meant it probably was. “Alright, alright, I’ll whip up something to eat. How do omelettes with fried sausage and chanterelles sound?” There was a unanimous vote of approval from the others. “Alright then, you sit back and relax, and I’ll get it all cooking.”